Memphis Grizzlies Can Be Special with or Without Ja Morant | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Ja Morant (center)Justin Ford/Getty Images
Apologies to those who thought we litigated the issue last year, but new evidence in the form of a series-evening 103-93 Memphis Grizzlies win on Wednesday night means we have to re-open a compelling case.
The familiar question: Are the Grizz actually better without superstar point guard Ja Morant?
The two-time All-Star missed the Game 2 win over the Los Angeles Lakers with an injured right hand, which lifted Memphis’ record without Morant to 33-17 (including the playoffs) since the start of the 2021-22 season, per The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor. That’s too large of a sample to dismiss.
First, though, some context.
The Grizzlies won’t be throwing a parade after a home-court win over a No. 7 seed that got some truly abysmal performances from key players. D’Angelo Russell shot 2-of-11 in 30 minutes and often moved around the floor as if he’d slept less time the night before than he spent on the court. Anthony Davis was, by his standards, historically unproductive.
Los Angeles shot 26.9 percent from deep as a team, ran no discernible offense down the stretch and somehow couldn’t contend with third-string center Xavier Tillman on the inside as the career backup went off for 22 points and 13 boards. Remember, in addition to Morant being on the sidelines, so were starting center Steven Adams and key backup Brandon Clarke, both of whom are done for the season.
This particular Ja-less win probably had more to do with the Lakers’ ineptitude than anything the Grizzlies did, though that analysis probably sells Memphis’ effort and defensive fortitude short.
Speaking of, that’s long been the best explanation for why the Grizzlies tend to succeed without their leading scorer and playmaker.
Last year, per The Athletic’s John Hollinger: “The Grizzlies give up more points per possession with Morant on the court than with any other rotation player, and that fact is immune to whatever arbitrary data endpoints you want to use. For the season, they give up 111.2 per 100 with Morant and just 105.3 without him.”
There’s some opponent shooting luck baked into that math, but what proved true last season mostly held up on Wednesday. Memphis hounded the Lakers up and down the floor, contesting shots in space and at the rim, making up for its lack of star power by doing the dirty work and capitalizing on every opportunity.
As much as anything, Morant’s absence seems to bring about an urgency in Memphis’ play, a collective understanding that the game can’t be won with bravado and highlight heroism.
It’s almost as if the modern Grizzlies can summon some of that old Grit ‘n Grind when the circumstances demand it.
“They were desperate, and they played harder than us,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said after the game.
On nights like Wednesday, a team that does more talking than most has no choice but to replace words with actions. Forget chatter about not ducking smoke and being fine in the West.
It’s easy to chirp when you’ve got one of the most athletically unstoppable forces on planet Earth performing feats that raise questions about the laws of physics. It’s understandable that Morant’s defiance of gravity creates in his team a sense that they merely need to believe something to make it so.
When you watch a man levitate, all things seem possible.
But maybe when Morant is out, all that fades, and the Grizzlies have to replace their missing swag with substance.
In those circumstances, success depends mostly on hard work and execution. Examples include Tyus Jones steadying the proceedings with low-mistake game management; Jaren Jackson Jr. taking a beating in working his way to the foul line for 10 free-throw attempts; Tillman fighting for every inch of space en route to a game-high five offensive rebounds.
Dillon Brooks talked up a storm, putting the lie to that theory. But maybe he’s just the exception that proves the rule.
He was 3-of-11 before he hit that one, for what it’s worth. And he didn’t quiet down after the game.
Ultimately, these dueling identities don’t need to be a problem for the Grizzlies. And you can bet that if you polled every member of the organization, asking if they’d prefer to have Morant or remove him from the team and get his salary slot back, they’d pick the former in a heartbeat.
Memphis is still in the relatively early phases of its growth process, and it can learn from life with and without Morant. Ideally, it’ll take the best parts of its Ja-less self—guts, defense, resolve—and combine them with the dynamism and spectacle Morant’s presence provides.
This obstacle can be an opportunity for the Grizzlies to learn that they don’t have to choose between two versions of themselves. They can be both.
That takeaway isn’t just for the Grizzlies who were on the floor against the Lakers.
Morant, watching from the sideline, needs to absorb the lesson, too. If he buys into the style his teammates play without him and mirrors their level of competitive desperation whenever he returns, something special could be on the horizon.
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